Following the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998, the principles and case law of the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) may be applied directly in UK courts. This means that in making submissions or arguing points of principle or law in any UK court, additional points or even stand-alone arguments can be taken from the point of view of the ECHR.

Generally, "human rights arguments" are only available against a public authority or a person exercising functions of a public nature. Thus human rights law ties in with judicial review and public law.

Commonly relied-upon provisions of the ECHR include the following:

Article 3: Prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment;

Article 5: Right to liberty and security of the person;

Article 6: Right to fairness in court proceedings;

Article 8: Right to respect for family and private life, home and correspondence;

Article 14: Prohibition of discrimination regarding ECHR articles.

We have extensive experience of using human rights arguments successfully for our clients.

Please contact us for further details.